Feb. 5, 1971: Apollo 14 Moon Landing Video - ABC News ABC News ABC News coverage as astronauts collect samples on the lunar surface. 3:00 | 09/28/14 Coming up in the next {{countdown}} {{countdownlbl}} Coming up next: More information on this video Enhanced full screen Transcript for 2/5/1971: Apollo 14 Moon Landing This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate. Astronauts are ordered back to lunar module before reaching goal of cone crater. Now Playing: Feb. 5, 1971: Apollo XIV Mission Incomplete Now Playing: 1/27/1967: Apollo I Tragedy Now Playing: 9/14/82: Grace Kelly Dies Now Playing: 9/13/93: PLO-Israeli Peace Agreement Now Playing: 9/15/01: Pres.

Bush Declares War on Terror Now Playing: 9/15/83: Israeli PM Begin Resigns Now Playing: 9/17/01: Stock Market Reopens Now Playing: 4/4/68: MLK Assassinated Now Playing: 4/29/1983: Chicago's First Black Mayor Now Playing: 4/28/1986: Chernobyl Disaster Now Playing: 6/26/90: Bush Breaks 'No New Tax' Policy Now Playing: 12/15/2006: Prince William Graduates Now Playing: 12/14/2008: Paul McCartney Interview Now Playing: 12/17/1992: Pres.

Bush Signs NAFTA Now Playing: 12/17/2003: 100 Years of Flight Now Playing: 12/14/2003: Saddam Hussein Captured Now Playing: 12/14/2008: Shoe Thrown at Bush in Iraq Now Playing: 12/13/2000: Al Gore's Concession Speech Now Playing: 12/13/2000: Bush's Acceptance Speech Now Playing: 12/18/1972: U.S. Resumes Bombing Vietnam Now Playing: {{itm.title}} NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details Apollo 14 Command and Service Module (CSM) NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1971-008A Description Apollo 14 was the third mission in which humans walked on the lunar surface and returned to Earth. On 5 February 1971 two astronauts (Apollo 14 Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. and LM pilot Edgar D.

Mitchell) landed near Fra Mauro crater on the Moon in the Lunar Module (LM) while the Command and Service Module (CSM) (with CM pilot Stuart A. Roosa) continued in lunar orbit. During their stay on the Moon, the astronauts set up scientific experiments, took photographs, and collected lunar samples. The LM took off from the Moon on 6 February and the astronauts returned to Earth on 9 February. Mission Profile After a delay of 40 minutes, 2 seconds due to clouds and rain, Apollo 14 was launched into Earth parking orbit on 31 January 1971 at 21:03:02 UT (4:03:02 p.m. EST) from pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center on Saturn V SA-509. Earth orbit insertion occurred at 21:14:51 UT followed by translunar injection at 23:37:34. An early first mid-course correction was made to make up for the launch delay so the spacecraft would arrive at the Moon on schedule.

The CSM separated from the S-IVB stage containing the LM at 00:05:31 UT on 1 February. Five attempts were made to dock the CSM and the LM, all unsuccessful because the catches on the docking ring did not release. The sixth attempt, at 02:00:02 UT, was successful and no further problems with the docking mechanism occurred. The S-IVB stage was released into a lunar impact trajectory. (It impacted the lunar surface on 4 February at 07:40:55.4 UT at 8.09 S, 26.02 W with a velocity of 2.54 km/s at a 69 degree angle from the horizontal.) A second mid-course correction was made on 2 February and a third on 4 February. Lunar orbit insertion occurred at 06:59:43 UT on 4 February.

The LM, with Shepard and Mitchell aboard, separated from the CSM, piloted by Roosa, at 04:50:44 UT on 5 February and landed at 09:18:11 UT in the hilly upland region 24 km north of the rim of Fra Mauro crater at 3.6 S, 17.5 W. The astronauts made two moonwalk EVA's totaling 9 hours, 23 minutes, one on 5 February and one on 6 February, during which the Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP) was placed on the surface of the moon, 42.28 kg of lunar samples were acquired, and photographs were taken. At the end of the second EVA Shepard hit two golf balls. Experiments were also performed from the CSM in equatorial orbit. The LM lifted off from the Moon at 18:48:42 UT on 6 February after 33 hours, 31 minutes on the lunar surface.

After the LM docked with the CSM at 20:35:53 UT the lunar samples and other equipment were transferred from the LM and the LM was jettisoned at 22:48:00 UT. It impacted the Moon on 8 February 00:45:25.7 UT at 3.42 S, 19.67 W. Transearth injection began at 01:39:04 UT on 7 February. One small mid-course correction was made on 8 February during transearth coast. The CM separated from the SM at 20:35:44 UT on 9 February. Apollo 14 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 9 February 1971 at 21:05:00 UT (4:05:00 p.m. EST) after a mission elapsed time of 216 hrs, 1 min, 58 secs. The splashdown point was 27 deg 1 min S, 172 deg 39 min W, 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa.

The astronauts and capsule were picked up by the recovery ship USS New Orleans. This was the last Apollo mission in which the astronauts were put in quaratine after their return. Performance of the spacecraft, the third of the Apollo H-series missions, was good for most aspects of the mission. The primary mission goals of deployment of the ALSEP and other scientific experiments, collection of lunar samples, surface photography, and photography, radio science and other scientific experiments from orbit were achieved with the exception of the full coverage planned for the Hycon camera. Shepard, 47, was a Navy captain on his second spaceflight (he'd flown previously as the first American in space on Mercury Redstone 3), Roosa, 37, was an Air Force major on his first spaceflight, and Mitchell, 40, was a Navy commander also on his first spaceflight. The backup crew for this mission was Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Joe Engle. The Apollo 14 command module "Kitty Hawk" is currently on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida.

Spacecraft and Subsystems As the name implies, the Command and Service Module (CSM) comprised two distinct units: the Command Module (CM), which housed the crew, spacecraft operations systems, and re-entry equipment, and the Service Module (SM) which carried most of the consumables (oxygen, water, helium, fuel cells, and fuel) and the main propulsion system. The total length of the two modules attached was 11.0 meters with a maximum diameter of 3.9 meters. Block II CSM's were used for all the crewed Apollo missions. The Apollo 14 CSM mass of 29,229 kg was the launch mass including propellants and expendables, of this the Command Module (CM-110) had a mass of 5758 kg and the Service Module (SM-110) 23,471 kg. Telecommunications included voice, television, data, and tracking and ranging subsystems for communications between astronauts, CM, LM, and Earth. Voice contact was provided by an S-band uplink and downlink system. Tracking was done through a unified S-band transponder.

A high gain steerable S-band antenna consisting of four 79-cm diameter parabolic dishes was mounted on a folding boom at the aft end of the SM. Two VHF scimitar antennas were also mounted on the SM. There was also a VHF recovery beacon mounted in the CM. The CSM environmental control system regulated cabin atmosphere, pressure, temperature, carbon dioxide, odors, particles, and ventilation and controlled the temperature range of the electronic equipment. Command Module The CM was a conical pressure vessel with a maximum diameter of 3.9 m at its base and a height of 3.65 m. It was made of an aluminum honeycomb sandwhich bonded between sheet aluminum alloy. The base of the CM consisted of a heat shield made of brazed stainless steel honeycomb filled with a phenolic epoxy resin as an ablative material and varied in thickness from 1.8 to 6.9 cm. At the tip of the cone was a hatch and docking assembly designed to mate with the lunar module. The CM was divided into three compartments.

The forward compartment in the nose of the cone held the three 25.4 m diameter main parachutes, two 5 m drogue parachutes, and pilot mortar chutes for Earth landing. The aft compartment was situated around the base of the CM and contained propellant tanks, reaction control engines, wiring, and plumbing. The crew compartment comprised most of the volume of the CM, approximately 6.17 cubic meters of space. Three astronaut couches were lined up facing forward in the center of the compartment. A large access hatch was situated above the center couch. A short access tunnel led to the docking hatch in the CM nose. The crew compartment held the controls, displays, navigation equipment and other systems used by the astronauts. The CM had five windows: one in the access hatch, one next to each astronaut in the two outer seats, and two forward-facing rendezvous windows. Five silver/zinc-oxide batteries provided power after the CM and SM detached, three for re-entry and after landing and two for vehicle separation and parachute deployment. The CM had twelve 420 N nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine reaction control thrusters. The CM provided the re-entry capability at the end of the mission after separation from the Service Module.

Service Module The SM was a cylinder 3.9 meters in diameter and 7.6 m long which was attached to the back of the CM. The outer skin of the SM was formed of 2.5 cm thick aluminum honeycomb panels. The interior was divided by milled aluminum radial beams into six sections around a central cylinder. At the back of the SM mounted in the central cylinder was a gimbal mounted re-startable hypergolic liquid propellant 91,000 N engine and cone shaped engine nozzle. Attitude control was provided by four identical banks of four 450 N reaction control thrusters each spaced 90 degrees apart around the forward part of the SM. The six sections of the SM held three 31-cell hydrogen oxygen fuel cells which provided 28 volts, an auxiliary battery, three cryogenic oxygen tanks (the battery and an extra oxygen tank were added after the Apollo 13 mishap as backups), two cryogenic hydrogen tanks, four tanks for the main propulsion engine, two for fuel and two for oxidizer, and the subsystems the main propulsion unit. Two helium tanks were mounted in the central cylinder.

Electrical power system radiators were at the top of the cylinder and environmental control radiator panels spaced around the bottom. Apollo Program The Apollo program included a large number of uncrewed test missions and 12 crewed missions: three Earth orbiting missions (Apollo 7, 9 and Apollo-Soyuz), two lunar orbiting missions (Apollo 8 and 10), a lunar swingby (Apollo 13), and six Moon landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17). Two astronauts from each of these six missions walked on the Moon (Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt), the only humans to have set foot on another solar system body. Total funding for the Apollo program was approximately $20,443,600,000.

For information on the Lunar Module and details of activities on the lunar surface, see: Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States Mass: 29229.0 kg NASA-Office of Manned Space Flight (United States) Disciplines The Apollo Spacecraft - A Chronology. Vol. IV. Part 3 (1971) 1971 January 18 NASA was considering several methods for providing real-time television coverage of lunar surface activities with scientific commentary to the news media during future Apollo flights. A recommended approach would place scientific personnel from within NASA, including Apollo Program principal investigators, in the MSC news center briefing room with a panel representing the news media. The scientific personnel would supplement the normal air-to-ground communications, public affairs commentary, and TV transmissions from the moon with spontaneous commentary on surface activities in progress. Memo, James A. McDivitt, MSC, to Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Hq., "Media coverage of Apollo 12 and 14 experiments," Jan. 18, 1971. January 29 The space vehicle for the Apollo 14 mission was determined ready for launch on January 31.

The Flight Readiness Review had been held at KSC on December 17, 1970; all required action and open work had been completed; and the Pre-Liftoff Readiness Review had been favorably completed January 29. Memo, Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Hq., to Apollo 14 Flight Readiness Review Record, "Confirmation of Flight Readiness for the Apollo 14 Mission," Jan. 29, 1971. January 31-February 9 The Apollo 14 (AS-509) mission - manned by astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell - was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 4:03 p.m. EST January 31 on a Saturn V launch vehicle. A 40-minute hold had been ordered 8 minutes before scheduled launch time because of unsatisfactory weather conditions, the first such delay in the Apollo program. Activities during earth orbit and translunar injection were similar to those of the previous lunar landing missions.

However, during transposition and docking, CSM 110 Kitty Hawk had difficulty docking with LM-8 Antares . A hard dock was achieved on the sixth attempt at 9:00 p.m. EST, 1 hour 54 minutes later than planned. Other aspects of the translunar journey were normal and proceeded according to flight plan. A crew inspection of the probe and docking mechanism was televised during the coast toward the moon. The crew and ground personnel were unable to determine why the CSM and LM had failed to dock properly, but there was no indication that the systems would not work when used later in the flight. Apollo 14 entered lunar orbit at 1:55 a.m. EST on February 4. At 2:41 a.m. the separated S-IVB stage and instrument unit struck the lunar surface 174 kilometers southeast of the planned impact point. The Apollo 12 seismometer, left on the moon in November 1969, registered the impact and continued to record vibrations for two hours. After rechecking the systems in the LM, astronauts Shepard and Mitchell separated the LM from the CSM and descended to the lunar surface.

The Antares landed on Fra Mauro at 4:17 a.m. EST February 5, 9 to 18 meters short of the planned landing point. The first EVA began at 9:53 a.m., after intermittent communications problems in the portable life support system had caused a 49-minute delay. The two astronauts collected a 19.5-kilogram contingency sample; deployed the TV, S-band antenna, American flag, and Solar Wind Composition experiment; photographed the LM, lunar surface, and experiments; deployed the Apollo lunar surface experiments package 152 meters west of the LM and the laser-ranging retroreflector 30 meters west of the ALSEP; and conducted an active seismic experiment, firing 13 thumper shots into the lunar surface. A second EVA period began at 3:11 a.m. EST February 6. The two astronauts loaded the mobile equipment transporter (MET) - used for the first time - with photographic equipment, tools, and a lunar portable magnetometer. They made a geology traverse toward the rim of Cone Crater, collecting samples on the way.

On their return, they adjusted the alignment of the ALSEP central station antenna in an effort to strengthen the signal received by the Manned Space Flight Network ground stations back on earth. Just before reentering the LM, astronaut Shepard dropped a golf ball onto the lunar surface and on the third swing drove the ball 366 meters. The second EVA had lasted 4 hours 35 minutes, making a total EVA time for the mission of 9 hours 24 minutes. The Antares lifted off the moon with 43 kilograms of lunar samples at 1:48 p.m. EST February 6. Meanwhile astronaut Roosa, orbiting the moon in the CSM, took astronomy and lunar photos, including photos of the proposed Descartes landing site for Apollo 16. Ascent of the LM from the lunar surface, rendezvous, and docking with the CSM in orbit were performed as planned, with docking at 3:36 p.m. EST February 6. TV coverage of the rendezvous and docking maneuver was excellent. The two astronauts transferred from the LM to the CSM with samples, equipment, and film.

The LM ascent stage was then jettisoned and intentionally crashed on the moon's surface at 7:46 p.m. The impact was recorded by the Apollo 12 February 22 MSC requested removal of sharp corners from the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) seat. During a recent series of LRV/EMU (extravehicular mobility unit) tests, a nicking or tearing of the portable life support system thermal cover had been discovered. Observation revealed that the thermal cover was contacting sharp corners on the LRV seats, when the test subject entered and left the vehicle. Ltr., James A. McDivitt, MSC, to Richard G. Smith, MSFC, "Sharp corners on current lunar roving vehicle design," Feb. 22, 1971. March 1 Because of difficulties during the past several months in developing and qualifying an automatic deployment system for the lunar roving vehicle, the automatic system was abandoned in favor of a manual system. Boeing was directed to stop all further effort on the automatic system. Ltr., Richard G. Smith, MSFC, to Rocco A.

Petrone, NASA Hq., "LRV Manual Deployment System," March 1, 1971. March 10 Action was initiated to determine the feasibility of providing photographic coverage of a lunar eclipse from the lunar surface or the CSM during the Apollo 15 mission. The eclipse would occur on August 6, three or four days after the scheduled Apollo 15 mission lunar surface liftoff. TWX, Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Hq., to James A. McDivitt, MSC, "Lunar eclipse during Apollo 15 mission," March 10, 1971. April 26 Acting NASA Administrator George M. Low discontinued the quarantine for future Apollo flights to the moon beginning with the Apollo 15 mission. The decision was based on a recommendation of the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination (ICBC). The ICBC would continue as an active body, however, at least until the results of the last Apollo lunar mission were reviewed. Biomedical characterization of returned lunar samples would also be continued.

Low announcement, "Decision to Terminate Quarantine under NMI 1052.90 (Attachment A, Change 1, 2)," April 26, 1971; ltr., Dale D. Myers, NASA Hq., to MSC Director, "Decision to Terminate Quarantine," May 10, 1971; TWX, J. W. Humphreys, NASA Hq., "Discontinuance of Lunar Quarantine," April 28, 1971. April 27 James C. Fletcher was sworn in as NASA Administrator at a White House ceremony. President Nixon had nominated him for the position on March 1, and the Senate had confirmed the nomination on March 11. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, had been Acting Administrator since the resignation of Administrator Thomas O. Paine on September 15, 1970. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1971 (NASA SP-4018, 1972), pp.

56-57, 59, 68, 69, 72, 114. April 30 Lee B. James, Director of Program Management at MSFC, would leave for a position in the academic community effective May 31, MSFC announced. On June 1, J. T. Shepherd would assume the duties as Acting Director, Program Management. James had been active in the space program since 1947. MSFC Key Personnel Announcement, April 30, 1971; ltr., Eberhard F. M. Rees, MSFC, to Robert R. Gilruth, MSC, May 3, 1971. May 5 The Apollo Site Selection Board selected Descartes as the Apollo 16 site. However, after the selection, a discussion began as to whether the Kant or Descartes region would be the better choice. NASA finally decided to go with the original selection of the Board: Descartes would be the prime Apollo 16 Site. Ltr., Lee R.

Scherer, NASA Hq., to distr.," Apollo 16 and 17 Site Selection Discussions," May 5, 1971; TWX, Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Hq., to James A. McDivitt, MSC, et al., "Apollo 16 Landing Site," June 11, 1971. May 13 NASA was considering a plan for obtaining contamination measurements on the remaining Apollo flights for use in Skylab planning. The plan required photography on Apollo 15 of liquid dumps, limited magnitude starfield, and window deposition photography. Apollo 16 and 17 would carry instrumentation to measure cloud intensity and effects, deposits and their effects, critical surfaces, particle count, surface charge potential, and pressure. TWX, Leland F. Belew, MSFC, to William C. Schneider and John H. Disher, NASA Hq., Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, James A. McDivitt, and Ronald W. Kubicki, MSC, "Contamination Measurements on Apollo," May 13, 1971; memo, Leland F.

Belew, MSFC,to ASPO and Skylab Managers, MSC, "Background and Justification for Apollo 16 Skylab Data Request," Sept. 10, 1971. July 26-August 7 Apollo 15 (AS-510) with astronauts David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James B. Irwin aboard was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 9:34 a.m. EDT July 26. The spacecraft and S-IVB combination was placed in an earth parking orbit 11 minutes 44 seconds after liftoff. Activities during earth orbit and translunar injection (insertion into the trajectory for the moon) were similar to those of previous lunar landing missions. Translunar injection was at about 12:30 p.m., with separation of the CSM from the LM/S-IVB/IU at 12:56 p.m. At 1:08 p.m., onboard color TV showed the docking of the CSM with the LM.

S-IVB auxiliary propulsion system burns sent the S-IVB/IU stages toward the moon, where they impacted the lunar surface at 4:59 p.m. EDT July 29. The point of impact was 188 kilometers northeast of the Apollo 14 Major items of discussion during the Manned Space Flight Management Council meeting in Washington were the Apollo 15 anomalies. These included parachute collapse during landing, lunar module descent battery, lunar surface drill, and steering mechanism on the LRV. Also discussed were the Apollo 16 preparations and the feasibility of TV coverage of the lunar rover during traverse. The most likely cause of the parachute collapse was damage from burning raw RCS fuel (monomethyl hydrazine) being expelled during depletion firing. Corrective action included landing with reaction control system propellants on board for a normal landing and biasing the propellant load to a slight excess of oxidizer and increasing the time delay inhibiting the rapid propellant dump, to avoid fuel contacting the parachute riser and suspension lines during low-altitude-abort land landings. Highlights of Manned Space Management Council Meeting," Oct. 18, 1971.

October 21 Some members of the Lunar Sample Review Board expressed concern that, unless provisions were made to retain vital parts of the Apollo science program for a number of years after the lunar landings were completed, tangible returns from the lunar landings would be greatly diminished. Three main areas of concern were the lunar sample analysis program, the curatorial staff and facilities for care of the sample collection, and the lunar geophysical stations and Apollo orbital science. Ltr., William W. Rubey and Robert A. Phinney, Cochairmen, Lunar Sample Review Board, to John E. Naugle, NASA Hq., Oct. 21, 1971. A detailed objective assessment of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used on the Apollo 15 mission indicated: The LRV was successfully deployed, with minor problems. Deployment took 26.5 minutes instead of the allotted time of 17 minutes. LRV systems were successfully prepared for traverse. Forward steering was inoperative during EVA-1, but functioned normally on EVA-2 and EVA-3. Average speed during traverse was 9.3 kilometers per hour; maximum speed 13 kilometers per hour.

Maximum slopes negotiated were up to 12 degrees. Braking distance was 4.6 meters from 10 kilometers per hour. The navigation system was extremely accurate. Forward visibility was generally excellent. Ltr., Richard G. Smith, MSFC, to ASPO Manager, "Apollo 15 Objective Assessment Report," Nov. 18, 1971, with encl., "LRV Detailed Objective Assessment." December 7 A meeting was held at NASA Hq. to formulate a plan to provide the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) with the material required to serve the scientific community. As a result of the meeting, MSC was requested to: Prepare index map overlays and frame indexes for all lunar photos from command module and scientific instrument module cameras. Evaluate the photos in terms of the correctness of the exposure settings and the visible effects of any camera malfunctions. Manage the preparation of the photo support data and camera calibration data to ensure their suitability for the photogrammetric reduction and subsequent analysis of the photographs. Manage the preparation of microfiche imagery of all command module photographs and every third mapping camera photograph, supplying masters and/or copies of the fiches to NSSDC.

Provide paper prints to NSSDC for the preparation of microfilm imagery of the panoramic camera photographs. Ltr., Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Hq., to James A. McDivitt, MSC, "Revised Apollo Photo Data Package," Jan. 7, 1972. Apollo 15 | NASA Apollo 15 "Climb aboard the Lunar Rover..." Crew 5/18/70 - S-II ondock at Kennedy 6/13/70 - S-IVB ondock at Kennedy 6/26/70 - S-IU ondock at Kennedy 7/6/70 - S-IC ondock at Kennedy Launch July 26, 1971; 9:34:00 a.m.

EDT Launch Pad 39A Duration: 12 days, 17 hours, 12 min Distance: 1,274,137 miles Lunar Coordinates: 26.08 degrees north, 3.66 degrees east Landing Recovery Ship: USS Okinawa Mission Objective Apollo 15 was the first of the Apollo "J" missions capable of a longer stay time on the moon and greater surface mobility. There were four primary objectives falling in the general categories of lunar surface science, lunar orbital science and engineering-operational. The mission objectives were to explore the Hadley-Apennine region, set up and activate lunar surface scientific experiments, make engineering evaluations of new Apollo equipment, and conduct lunar orbital experiments and photographic tasks. Exploration and geological investigations at the Hadley-Apennine landing site were enhanced by the addition of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, or LRV. Setup of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, or ALSEP, was the third in a trio of operating ALSEPs (on Apollos 12, 14 and 15). Orbital science experiments were concentrated in any array of instruments and cameras in the scientific instrument module, or SIM, bay.

Engineering and operational objectives included evaluation of modifications to the lunar module, or LM, made for carrying a heavier payload and for a lunar stay time of almost three days. Changes to the Apollo spacesuit and to the portable life support system, or PLSS, were evaluated, and performance of the Lunar Roving Vehicle and the other new J-mission equipment that went with it - lunar communications relay unit, or LCRU, and the ground-controlled television assembly, or GCTA. Another major mission objective involved the launching of a Particles and Fields, or P&F, subsatellite into lunar orbit by the command and service module, or CSM, shortly before beginning the return-to-Earth portion of the mission. The subsatellite was designed to investigate the moon's mass and gravitational variations, particle composition of space near the moon and the interaction of the moon's magnetic field with that of Earth. Mission Highlights Apollo 15 launched from Launch Complex 39 at Cape Canaveral at 9:34 a.m. EDT, only 187 milliseconds off schedule. The translunar injection, or TLI, and hybrid transfer maneuvers were combined into a single "optimized TLI" S-IVB engine burn.

A minor problem early in the mission involving a short circuit in a service propulsion engine, or SPS engine, firing switch was successfully cleared through revised procedures for the lunar orbit insertion, or LOI, and subsequent SPS maneuvers. David Scott and James Irwin flew their LM to a perfect landing at 6:16 p.m. EDT July 30, at Hadley Rille about 1,500 feet north and east of the targeted landing point near a crater named Salyut. Landing approach over the Apennine Range - one of the highest on the moon - was at an angle of 26 degrees, the steepest approach yet used in Apollo missions. During three periods of extravehicular activity, or EVA, on July 31, and Aug.

1 and 2, Scott and Irwin completed a record 18 hours, 37 minutes of exploration, traveled 17.5 miles in the first car that humans have ever driven on the moon, collected more than 170 pounds of lunar samples, set up the ALSEP array, obtained a core sample from about 10 feet beneath the lunar surface, and provided extensive oral descriptions and photographic documentation of geologic features in the vicinity of the landing site during the three days (66 hours, 55 minutes) on the lunar surface. On Aug. 2, LM Falcon fired its ascent stage engine and lifted off the moon for its rendezvous with command module, or CM, Endeavor. For the first time, the lunar liftoff was seen on Earth via the LRV television camera. The two spacecraft docked as Endeavor began its 50th lunar orbit. On the 74th revolution, the Particles and Fields subsatellite was spring-launched from the service module, or SM, SIM bay. On the next revolution, Aug. 4, a 2-minute, 21-second SPS burn put Apollo 15 on its path back to Earth. On Aug.

5, Alfred Worden became the first human to carry out a deep space EVA. He exited the CM, climbed toward the rear of the SM and retrieved film cassettes from the SIM bay cameras and returned to the CM. The entire operation was completed in 18 minutes (one hour had been scheduled in the flight plan). At approximately 4:46 p.m. EDT Aug. 7, Apollo 15 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 335 miles north of Honolulu, ending a flight of 12 days, seven hours. The crew was picked up by helicopters from the prime recovery ship, the USS Okinawa, 6.32 miles from the targeted touchdown point. During the final stages of descent on its three main parachutes, the CM crew and shipboard observers noted one of the parachutes became only partially inflated following jettison of RSC fuel remaining on board. As a result of the loss of one parachute, the CM impacted at 21.8 mph, instead of the planned 19 mph.

Apollo 15 set several new records for crewed spaceflight: heaviest payload in a lunar orbit of approximately 107,000 pounds, maximum radial distance traveled on the lunar surface away from the spacecraft of about 17.5 miles (previous high was 2.1 miles on Apollo 14), most lunar surface EVAs (three) and longest total of duration for lunar surface EVAs (18 hours, 37 minutes - almost the total time spent in lunar orbit by Apollo 8), longest time in lunar orbit (about 145 hours; only two hours less than the entire Apollo 8 mission), longest crewed lunar mission (295 hours), longest Apollo mission (295 hours - previous high was 244 hours, 36 minutes on Apollo 12), the first satellite placed in lunar orbit by a crewed spacecraft, and first deep space and operational EVA. Apollo & Skylab KSC's Apollo-Soyuz Test Project History Archive The Apollo Program began before the first American was launched into space.

In July, 1960, NASA announced that a program to fly Astronauts around the moon would follow the planned Mercury program, but with President Kennedy's famous speech on May 25, 1961, the focus on the Apollo missions shifted to a lunar landing and came into sharper focus with the concrete goal of achieving this before the decade's end. Many people feel that the Apollo program stands as mankind's greatest technological achievement. In all, six missions landed on the surface of the moon, and three others orbited the moon without landing, including the ill-fated Apollo 13 . The spacecraft was in three parts: The conical Command Module where the crew ate and slept on its way to the moon and home; the Service Module, supplying electricity, maneuvering power and thrust to get home from lunar orbit, and water to the spacecraft; and the Lunar Module, or LM, a two-part, totally self-contained spacecraft that used its own rockets to land on and take off from the surface of the moon, and even served as its own launch pad.

Apollo missions were launched atop two different boosters, the Saturn 1B used for the Earth orbiting missions (including Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz ), and the mighty Saturn V, the rocket to the moon. Apollo started in tragedy, when a fire on the launch pad in the Command Module of Apollo 1 claimed the lives of our second man in space and first Gemini astronaut, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, our first space walker, Edward White, and rookie astronaut Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967, in a routine training exercise for what had been scheduled to be the first Apollo mission. A detailed description of the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission is available from KSC. Although the spacecraft had to be modified to prevent any chance of a recurrance, Apollo 7 was readied for flight by October, 1968, after an unoccupied test (named Apollo 4, the first flight of the Saturn V). Following its success, Apollo 8 , the first human flight of the Saturn V, was launched around the moon in December, and by the following July, Apollo 11 actually placed a man on another celestial body and brought him home again.

Twelve men in all walked on the moon before Apollo was done. The last three missions featured the Lunar Rover, which permitted the astronauts to drive about and explore various terrains too rough for the LM to attempt to land upon. On the last Apollo mission to the moon, the astronauts spent 22 hours in moon walks and camped out on the moon for three days total. Sadly, Apollo 18, 19 and 20 were cancelled due to budget limitations. One of these missions had been scheduled to explore the scientifically intriguing crater Aristarchus, where astronomers through the ages had witnessed geological (or, more properly, "lunalogical") activity through their telescopes and wondered whether or not it might be volcanism. We are still wondering. We have never yet returned to the moon. How sad. The Apollo spacecraft was used for four later missions, the three long-duration Skylab missions the final Apollo flight, the Apollo-Soyuz linkup with the Soviet Soyuz 19. Test Flights and Lunar Missions: Mission Astronauts Launch/Landing1/Landing2 Highlights Walter M. Schirra, Jr.

October 11, 1968 First Apollo mission Apollo 7 Donn F. Eisele October 22, 1968 to fly. Made 163 Walter Cunningham orbits of earth. Frank Borman December 21, 1968 First occupied launch of Apollo 8 James A. Lovell, Jr. December 27, 1968 Saturn V. Looped around William A. Anders moon on Christmas Eve. James A. McDivitt March 3, 1969 151 orbits of Earth. Apollo 9 David R. Scott March 13, 1969 First human test of Russell R. Schweikart Lunar Module. Thomas P. Stafford May 18, 1969 Orbited moon. Lunar Apollo 10 John W. Young May 26, 1969 Module dropped to within Eugene A. Cernan 9 miles of Lunar surface. Neil A. Armstrong July 16, 1969 Landed on moon with 30 seconds Apollo 11 Michael Collins July 20, 1969 of fuel remaining.

Took core Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin July 24, 1969 samples. Planted American flag. Charles "Pete" Conrad November 14, 1969 Met up with and returned Apollo 12 Richard F. Gordon, Jr. November 18, 1969 parts of old Alan L. Bean November 24, 1969 Surveyor 3 probe. James A. Lovell, Jr. April 11, 1970 "OK, Houston, we've had a Apollo 13 Fred W. Haise, Jr. April 17, 1970 problem here." O2 tank blew up; John L. Sweigert. Jr. LM got 'em around moon and home. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. January 31, 1971 Extensive scientific experiments. Apollo 14 Stuart A. Roosa February 3, 1971 Astronauts almost got lost when Edgar D. Mitchell February 9, 1971 alien landscape became disorienting. David R.

Scott July 26, 1971 First use of Lunar Rover. Apollo 15 James B. Irwin July 30, 1971 Astronauts rode over 27 kilometers. Alfred M. Worden August 7, 1971 First Apollo space walk. John W. Young April 16, 1972 Malfunction almost scrubbed landing. Apollo 16 Thomas K. Mattingly II April 20, 1972 Stayed 3 days, got Lunar Rover up Charles M. Duke, Jr. April 27, 1972 to almost 18 kph. Eugene A. Cernan December 7, 1972 Apollo 17 Ronald E. Evans December 11, 1972 Last men on the moon (so far). Harrison H. Schmitt December 19, 1972 Skylab Missions: Mission Astronauts Launch/Landing Orbits Duration Charles "Pete" Conrad May 25, 1973 Skylab I Paul J.

Weitz June 22, 1973 404 672 hours, 49 minutes, 49 seconds Joseph P. Kerwin Alan L. Bean July 28, 1973 Skylab II Jack R. Lousma September 25, 1973 858 1,427 hours, 9 minutes, 4 seconds Owen K. Garriott Gerald P. Carr November 16, 1973 Skylab III William R. Pogue February 8, 1974 1,214 2,017 hours, 16 minutes, 30 seconds Edward G. Gibson Apollo-Soyuz Mission Astronauts/Cosmonauts Launch/Landing Orbits Duration Thomas P. Stafford July 15, 1975 Apollo 18 Vance D. Brand July 24, 1975 136 217 hours, 30 minutes Donald K.

"Deke" Slayton Soyuz 19 Alexei Leonov July 15, 1975 96 143 hours, 31 minutes Valeri Kubasov July 21, 1975 Updated November 12, 2008 The Apollo Spacecraft - A Chronology. Vol. IV. The Key Events 1966 February 14: First scientific experiments for lunar surface investigations were selected. February 26: Apollo Saturn 201 - an Apollo Block I spacecraft (CSM 009) on a Saturn IB launch vehicle was launched from Cape Kennedy on a suborbital test mission. March 8: First integrated test of service propulsion system, electrical power system, and cryogenic gas storage system was successfully completed at White Sands, N. Mex., Test Facility. March 16: Gemini VIII mission was launched with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott. The crew rendezvoused with the target vehicle,and the first docking in space was confirmed 6 hours 33 minutes after liftoff. During March: NASA Hq.

told Congress run-out cost of Apollo program would be an estimated $22.718 billion. May 5: The Apollo Spacecraft Program Office was asked to reassess spacecraft control weights and delta V budget and prepare recommendations for first lunar landing mission weight and performance budgets. May 19: After a fire in the environmental control system unit at AiResearch, a concerted effort was under way to identify nonmetallic materials and other potential fire problems. June 2: Surveyor I softlanded on the moon and began transmitting the first of 10,000 clear, detailed TV pictures to earth. July 5: AS-203 was launched on an unmanned orbital test mission. All objectives were achieved. No recovery was planned. July 26: Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA Deputy Administrator, assigned specific space flight program responsibilities to the offices of each of the Associate Administrators. August 10: Lunar Orbiter 1 was launched. By the time of completion of photo readouts from the spacecraft on September 14, it had photographed 9 primary potential Apollo landing sites and 11 areas on the back of the moon.

August 25: AS-202 was launched on an unmanned suborbital test mission. The space vehicle comprised S-IB stage, S-IVB stage, instrument unit, CSM 011. Spacecraft recovery was in Pacific Ocean. October 19: NASA announced that AS-204 would be the first Apollo manned flight (earth orbital). Crewmen named were Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. November 6: Lunar Orbiter II was launched. During a 23-day operational period it photographed 13 Apollo primary potential landing sites and a number of secondary sites. Two micrometeorite hits were detected. December 13: Lunar landing research vehicle No. 1 was received at MSC. December 22: NASA announced names of crews selected for second and third manned Apollo missions. 1967 January 19: Numerous deficiencies were noted in the AS-204 spacecraft (CSM012) during testing at Downey, Calif., and KSC.

January 20: The S-IVB stage for Saturn launch vehicle 503 exploded and was destroyed at the Douglas Co., Sacramento, Calif., Test Facility. January 23: The Lunar Mission Planning Board held its first meeting. Principal topic was photography from Lunar Orbiter missions and application to Apollo landing site selection. January 27: During a simulated countdown for the AS-204 mission, a flash fire swept through command module 012, taking the lives of the crew, Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. January 28: The Apollo 204 Review Board was established by NASA Deputy Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., to investigate the AS-204 accident. February 1: Manned Spaceflight Center directed contractors and government agencies to stop all MSC-related manned testing in environments with high oxygen content until further notice. February 7: The Apollo 204 Review Board Chairman established 21 Task Panels to support the Board in its investigation. February 10: The Board of Inquiry into the January 20 S-IVB stage explosion identified the probable cause of the accident.

March 14: Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips appointed a team to make a special audit of quality control and inspection procedures and contractors and NASA Centers. April 5: The Apollo 204 Review Board sent its final report to NASA Administrator James E. Webb. 1967 April 6: A program of biology training for lunar mission crews was formulated. April 10: MSC's ASPO Manager George M. Low established two task teams to investigate CSM electrical systems and flammable materials. April 27: NASA Task Team - Block II CSM Redefinition was established in residence at North American Aviation to provide timely decisions during spacecraft redefinition following the January 27 AS-204 fire. May 1: NASA estimated that the impact of the AS-204 accident on program costs for FY 1967 and 1968 would be $81 million. May 18: Crew members for the Apollo 7 (first manned Apollo flight) were named: Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham.

June 1: A meeting at MSC discussed CSM and LM changes, schedules, and related test and hardware programs. August 1: Lunar Orbiter V was launched; five potential Apollo landing sites were photographed during mission. August 18: The NASA Block II CSM Redefinition Task Team, established April 27, was phased out. September 6: An Apollo System Safety program was established by NASA Hq. October 3: An Apollo Spacecraft Incident Investigation and Reporting Panel was established at MSC. October 24-November 3: Eberhard F. M. Rees made a preliminary survey at North American Rockwell before forming an Apollo Special Task Team to support MSC on manufacturing problems. November 4: NASA announced an Apollo mission schedule for six flights in 1968 and five in 1969. November 9: The Apollo 4 mission was successfully flown. The spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean after an 8-hour 37-minute flight. December 16: NASA and North American Rockwell personnel reached decisions on flammability problems related to coax cables in CMs.

December 17: A LM test failed at Grumman when a window shattered during the initial pressurization test of the LM-5 ascent stage. December 25: The first fire-in-the hole test was successfully completed at White Sands Test Facility. The vehicle test configuration was LM-2. 1968 January 2: The Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight summarized key decisions required to certify the Apollo system-design for manned flight. January 17: Eberhard Rees, Director of the Apollo Special Task Team at North American Rockwell Downey, told ASPO Manager George M. Low he had found "serious quality and reliability resources deficiencies." January 22: NASA launched Apollo 5, the first LM flight (unmanned). The AS-204 launch vehicle was used. January 24: CSM Manager Kenneth S. Kleinknecht listed what he thought were the chief problems facing the program. February 5: The Senior Flammability Board decided on action to prepare for a 60-percent oxygen/40 per-cent nitrogen prelaunch atmosphere in CSM 101.

February 28: Priorities for scientific objectives vs mission operations for the first lunar landing mission were established. April 4: Apollo 6 was launched on a Saturn V booster, with an unmanned Block I CSM and a lunar test article. The spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean in good condition. April 5-7: A 48-hour delayed-recovery test was successfully conducted in the Gulf of Mexico with three astronauts in CSM 007. April 10: The Apollo Program Director said a TV camera would be carried in CM 101 (Apollo 7). May 6: Lunar landing research vehicle No. 1 crashed at Ellington AFB, Tex., during a training flight. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong ejected and suffered minor injuries. The vehicle was a total loss. May 28: The LM ascent engine problem was resolved, with North American Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division responsible for delivery. The engines would be furnished by Bell Aerosystems Co. to Rocketdyne, and the Rocketdyne injector installed in the engine. July 3: The final drop test to qualify the CSM earth landing system was successfully conducted. August 9: ASPO Manager George M.

Low initiated a series of actions that resulted in the ultimate decision several months later to send Apollo 8 on a lunar-orbit mission. August 30: The Director of the Apollo Special Task Team at North American Rockwell, notified the contractor that the facilities there were relinquished to the company. The team's mission was ended. September 23: The Apollo Guidance Software Task Force submitted its final report. October 11: Apollo 7 was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on a Saturn IB launch vehicle. The first manned Apollo flight was completed October 22. 1968 December 8: Lunar landing training vehicle No. 1, with MSC test pilot Joe Algranti at the controls, crashed and burned at Ellington AFB, Tex. Algranti ejected safely. December 21: Apollo 8 was launched from KSC on a Saturn V booster. The spacecraft made 20 orbits around the moon on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and returned to earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean December 27.

1969 February 3: NASA announced a 12-month forecast of manned space flight missions, Apollo 9 January 5-8: Detailed reports on the Apollo 11 sample analyses were presented at a Lunar Science Conference at MSC. March 7: The President listed six specific objectives for the space program. April 11: Apollo 13 was launched on a lunar landing mission but 7 hours 55 minutes into the flight an explosion in an SM oxygen tank required an abort. The astronauts powered up the LM, powered down the CSM, and used the LM propellant for a free-return trajectory around the moon. They returned safely to earth, and landed in the mid-Pacific on April 17. April 17: NASA Hq. established an Apollo 13 January 31: Apollo 14 was launched from KSC and the LM landed on the Fra Mauro area of the moon on February 5. Two EVAs were performed, the second using a mobile equipment transporter to permit a longer traverse. The LM lifted off from the moon February 6 and the CM splashed down in the Pacific on February 9.

April 26: Quarantine for crew members who would go to the moon on future Apollo flights was discontinued. July 26: Apollo 15 was launched, and on July 30 the LM landed in the Hadley-Apennine region of the moon. Three EVAs were completed with a total EVA time of 18 hours 35 minutes. The LM ascent stage liftoff on August 2 was the first televised, and the lunar roving vehicle was used for the first time. Apollo 15's April 16: Apollo 16 was launched from KSC and landed in the moon's Descartes region April 20. Three EVAs were completed, using the lunar roving vehicle for a total distance of 26.7 kilometers. The LM lifted off April 23 and docked with the CSM to transfer astronauts and samples. The CM returned to land in the Pacific April 27. December 7: Apollo 17 , the final manned lunar landing mission, was launched from KSC.

The astronauts in the LM landed in the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon on December 11 and explored the area on the lunar roving vehicle during three EVAs with a total of about 22 hours. They lifted off December 14 and landed in the Pacific December 19. 1973 January 22: A tribute to the Apollo program from former President Johnson, who had died earlier in the day, was read at the National Space Club's "Salute to Apollo," held in Washington, D.C. November 2: A stained glass Space Window with a two-centimeter Apollo 11 lunar sample in its center was commissioned for the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. 1974 July 13: President Nixon proclaimed July 16-24 United States Space Week in recognition of the fifth anniversary of Apollo 11. Apollo 14 Mission Apollo 14 Mission Mission Overview The Apollo 14 mission, with a crew including Alan Shepard Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell, was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on January 31, 1971. It was the third mission to achieve lunar landing.

The spacecraft landed in the Fra Mauro highlands, the same area that was to have been explored on Apollo 13. Although the primary mission objectives for Apollo 14 were the same as those of Apollo 13, provisions were made for returning a significantly greater quantity of lunar material and scientific data than had been possible previously. An innovation that allowed an increase in the range of lunar surface exploration and the amount of material collected was the provision of a collapsible, two-wheeled cart, the modular equipment transporter (MET), for carrying tools, cameras, a portable magnetometer, and lunar samples. Lunar liftoff occurred on February 6 with mission completion on February 9. Landing Site The landing site is located in a broad, shallow valley between radial ridges of the Fra Mauro Formation and approximately 500 kilometers from the edge of the Imbrium Basin. The major crater Copernicus lies 360 kilometers to the north, and bright ray material that emanates from Copernicus Crater covers much of the landing site region.

In the immediate landing site area, an important feature is the young, very blocky Cone Crater, which is approximately 340 meters in diameter and which penetrates the regolith on the ridge to the east of the landing site. Surface Operations During their 33.5 hours on the Moon, the Apollo 14 crew performed two extravehicular activities (EVAs) totaling over 9 hours on the lunar surface. These EVAs covered a total traverse distance of 3.5 kilometers and involved collecting at 13 locations, deploying or performing 10 experiments, and examining and photographing the lunar surface. The following map of the landing area shows where these activities took place. Lunar Samples The Apollo 14 landing site was in the Fra Mauro formation, which is material ejected by the impact that produced the Imbrium Basin. As one would expect in a region formed by impact-basin debris, most of the 42 kilograms of rocks and soil collected on Apollo 14 are breccias (rocks that are composed of fragments of other, older rocks). The countless impacts that have sculpted the Moon's surface broke many rocks down into small fragments.

The heat and pressure of such impacts can sometimes fuse these fragments into new rocks, called breccias. In some cases, the rock fragments that form a breccia are themselves breccias. Such rocks obviously have experienced complex histories with multiple generations of impact events.

Question: Which Apollo spacecraft landed on the Moon in February 1971?
Answer: Apollo 14